Woman takes Honda to small-claims, wins big in fuel economy case

Ouch.
By Linda Deutsch Associated Press

Los Angeles— A Southern California woman took Honda to small-claims court and won in a big way.
Los Angeles Superior Court Commissioner Douglas Carnahan ruled Wednesday that the automaker misled Heather Peters about the potential fuel economy of her hybrid car and awarded her $9,867 — much more than the couple hundred dollars cash that a proposed class-action settlement is offering.
"At a bare minimum Honda was aware ... that by the time Peters bought her car there were problems with its living up to its advertised mileage," Carnahan wrote in the judgment.
Honda disagrees with the judgment rendered in the case and plans to appeal the decision, company spokesman Chris Martin said in a statement.
Peters, a former lawyer, said she is renewing her legal license after a 10-year lapse so she can represent other Honda owners who have the same problems she did.
"Wow! Fantastic. I am absolutely thrilled," she said when the Associated Press informed her of the judge's decision. "Sometimes big justice comes in small packages. This is a victory for Honda Civic owners everywhere."
Carnahan included in his 26-page decision a long list of misleading representations by Honda that he said Peters had correctly identified. Among them were that the car would use "amazingly little fuel," "provides plenty of horsepower while still sipping fuel," and that it would "save plenty of money on fuel with up to 50 mpg during city driving."
"Actual performance of plaintiff's vehicle did not live up to these standards," he said. He noted that when she began receiving much less than the advertised mileage, "she knew she had a problem."
Peters opted out of the class-action lawsuit so she could try to claim a larger damage award for her 2006 Honda Civic's failure to deliver the 50 mpg that was promised.
The proposed class-action settlement would give aggrieved owners $100 to $200 each and a $1,000 credit toward the purchase of a new car. Legal fees in the class action would give trial lawyers $8.5 million, Peters said.
In small claims court, there are no attorneys' fees and cases are decided quickly.
Peters had hoped to inspire a flood of small-claims lawsuits by the other 200,000 people whose Honda Civic hybrids are covered by the proposed settlement. If all 200,000 owners sued and won in small claims court, she said, it could cost Honda Motor Co. $2 billion.
Peters launched a website, DontSettleWithHonda.org, and said she was contacted by hundreds of other car owners seeking guidance on filing small claims lawsuits if they opted out of the class-action case. But legal experts say it's unlikely that many owners would take the small-claims route because of the time and energy involved in pursuing such lawsuits.
Carnahan found that Honda did commit fraud, but he could not find intentional fraud and thus did not award punitive damages. Most of the damages Peters was awarded were for extra money spent on fuel, both in the past and future, the cost of the car battery, and the decrease in the car's value because of its problems.
A judge in San Diego County is due to rule in March on whether to approve Honda's class-action settlement. Members of the class have until Feb. 11 to accept or decline the deal.

Source;

http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20120202/AUTO01/202020429/Woman-takes-Honda-small-claims-wins-big-fuel-economy-case?odyssey=modnewswelltextFRONTPAGEp

Try, try, again: Another Honda Accord hybrid on the way

Honda just introduced a bevy of energy-frugal cars at the Tokyo Motor Show and vowed to cut carbon emissions by 30% from year 2000 levels on all its vehicles by 2020.

But perhaps more interesting were remarks to reporters indicating that another Accord hybrid is on the way, wire services reported. The model was discontinued in the U.S. after poor sales, mostly because it didn't save much gas, as it modified a V-6, instead of a four-cylinder, engine.

"For such a future, the most important challenge we need to address right now is the improvement of the efficiency of gasoline and diesel-powered internal combustion engines," said CEO Takanobu Ito.

To get there, he says he hopes to modify gas and diesel engines and combine them with continuously variable transmissions, or CVTs.

As a down payment on Honda's greenness, he showed off the EV-ster concept, an electric rear-wheel-drive two-seater convertible sports car. He says it has an electric range of about 80 miles and is steered with a pair of levers.

Source;
http://content.usatoday.com/communities/driveon/post/2011/11/honda-vows-30-carbon-emissions-cut-in-japan-by-2020/1

2012 Honda Insight Recieves Minor Model Change

The upcoming Frankfurt Motor Show will see Honda revealing the 2012MY Insight hybrid alongside the European market 2012 Civic 5d hatchback. But for now, we get the first official photograph and initial information on the Japanese carmaker's Prius rival.



The big news for the 2012 model year is that, for the first time, the Honda hybrid model's CO2 emissions drop below the 100 g/km mark, to 96 g/km.



The automaker say this has been achieved thanks to a series of enhancements, which include reduced engine friction, changes to the CVT transmission and to the air conditioning that benefits from a new cold storage system, further aiding the reduction of fuel consumption.



The 2012 MY Insight also features some subtle exterior changes, with the most notable being the new front grille and the redesigned front bumper. A slimmer spoiler at the rear allows for a larger glass area, and, along with the smaller wiper, better rear visibility.



Honda’s engineers have also changed the suspension settings in order to improve both stability and ride comfort, while changes on the interior are limited to the use of higher quality materials.

Full details are to be announced at a later date.



Source;

http://carscoop.blogspot.com/2011/09/honda-refreshes-insight-hybrid-for-2012.html